July 2014 - Black Dog Video

Free Hugs: What to Watch This Week of July 29th!

July 30, 2014/0 Comments/in Newsletter/by Darren

Whew, what a weekend! So much meat. So much beer. So much sun. Following a swell “Burgerfest” at my good buddy, Garn’s, on Saturday night, a couple of us ventured out into the scorching sun to try our luck at something called “Brewery and The Beast” Sunday afternoon. It was an event put on by Phillips Brewery and about 40 of Vancouver’s best restaurants. The theme? Meat and beer. And that’s exactly what it was – samplings of various delicious meats washed down with cold beer. I lost count of how many plates I had or how many different animals I ate. I think I ingested beef, pork, yak, duck, elk, maybe horse (there was some unidentifiable flesh), Sasquatch, gerbil, possibly gazelle and maybe even a little morsel of gorilla. It was gluttony at it’s finest. All it needed was a vomitorium. I looked around to see if there were any barf troughs or throat tickle feathers, but no such luck. The Romans knew what they were doing. It was quite a sweaty, meaty day. Throw in a plethora of tasty beer and the hot sun and I actually came close to passing out at one point. Thank goodness for some water and frozen towels. It was a pretty rough night as I felt like a giant snake that had just devoured some unlucky villager or a forrest pig (I think I may have eaten a little forrest pig that afternoon) Good times.

Just a reminder – we have our customer appreciation day coming up – Saturday August 9th at both locations. There will be a draw for a Blu Ray player, some swag to hand out, music, dancing and much carousing. Oh, and if you rent a film, you can get a second old title film for free! Hope to see you there.

And and please check this out and pass it on to whoever you think might be interested. Thanks!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-black-dog-video#home

In Your Eyes!

All Cheerleaders Die – Some cheerleaders band together to take down the captain of the football team. Sounds like pretty standard high school hijinks, right? Maybe a Revenge of the Nerds type thing. But with cheerleaders. But then I noticed it was directed by Lucky McKee (The Woman, Red, May) so brace yourself for some knife throwing, bear traps, mystical orgasms, bludgeoning, stabbing, the undead, sex with the undead, dead cats, witches, lesbians, underage drinking, neck snapping, goat milk and some blood drinking. Enjoy. DVD.

Angriest Man in Brooklyn – Robin Williams is the title character who’s mistakenly told he only has 90 minutes to live so he races around town trying to make amends with everyone he’s been a dick too. I would need a lot more time than that. DVD.

Borgen Season 1 – Outstanding Danish political TV series that follows the rise of a Prime Minister and all the shit that she has to deal with. Heard nothing but great things about this! We have Season 1 at Commercial. Soon, I hope, to Cambie. Season 2 should also be seeing the light of day in the near future. DVD.

Cuban Fury – Nick Frost (Simon Pegg’s, portly co-star in many films) stars as a guy who like salsa. Not the delicious condiment food but the sexy dance! He’s a natural born dancer with fire in his heels and snakes in his hips! The lovely and talented Rashida Jones is along for the ride in this comedy to dance to night away. DVD.

Finding Vivian Maier – Amazing doc about a mysterious nanny and secret street photographer who took over 100,000 photos of lief on the streets but they remained unseen during her lifetime. I imagine that they’ll discover all the incredible things that I have done after I’m dead. At Commercial. Cambie on Friday.

Jimmy P. – Hearts of Darkness lover Benecio Del Toro stars as a Native American veteran suffering from a series of psychological issues. He then befriends a French psychologist who helps him work out his shit. Might start with his penchant for not returning movies he’s rented. DVD. At Commercial, soon to Cambie.

Lullaby – One of those, guy returns home to see his terminally ill father who’s decided to end his life and make amends with all the folks he’s been estranged from, ensemble type films. Whew. Has Amy Adams, Richard Jenkins, Terrence Howard, Garrett Hedlund and Lady Sybil Branson from Downton Abbey in it. DVD.

Noah – Why is Aronofsky wasting his fine talents on such a silly story as Noah and his big ark? I haven’t seen it – not too sure that I will – although I’ve heard it’s got lots of exciting stuff but I think he should be directing more challenging fair like Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan instead of a story about God telling Russell Crowe to build a big boat and then somehow get two of every animal (sorry unicorns) on it. But that’s just me. DVD and Blu Ray.

The Other Woman – Tepid-looking comedy that tells the tale of one Jamie Lannister, a cheating husband, and how his long-suffering, weird-looking wife (Cameron Diaz) teams up with his girlfriends to exact revenge on said Jamie Lannister. Hijinks, I presume, ensue. DVD.

Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It – Still milking the TPB schtick. The impending legalization of dope threatens the boys drug operations. Comedy and stuff, I presume, ensue. I have yet to watch more than 2 minutes of this Canadian institution. Those who like it love it. Those who love it, live it.

The Unknown Known – War criminal and walking human turd Donnie Rumsfeld is interviewed by Errol Morris in this riveting, maddening documentary. I’m not a violent type of guy but every time I see the cover of this DVD I just want to punch “Rummy” in that smug face of his. Try not to put your fist through your TV. DVD.

Coming in Your Eyes Next Week

Californication Season 7
Divergent
Jamie Private School
Need for Speed
Oculus
Protector 2

Keep an eye on the shelves on Fridays for some bonus treats. Just sayin.

I’m not one to usually get excited about upcoming films and their trailers but The Road Warrior was a seminal film of my teenage years and I, for one, am pretty stoked about this. Please don’t screw it up, Geroge Miller. Please don’t make another Thunderdome.…[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdLl1GVjOrc[/youtube]

Stay cool, Vancouver. Stay golden.

Black Dog Video

News at Black Dog Video

Black Dog Video

News at Black Dog Video

Black Dog Video
Cambie Street and/or Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
Canada

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Free Hugs! Black Dog Tells You What You Need to Know! July 22nd

July 23, 2014/0 Comments/in Newsletter/by Darren

So the Indiegogo campaign is humming along quite nicely. Big thanks to everyone who has not only donated, but to those who have helped to spread the word via social medias such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Myspace and whatever else is out there. Me? I prefer the classic methods: carrier crows and pigeons, smoke signals and midnight rides on my horse shouting to whoever might listen. Also thanks to all of those you have donated DVDs – keep ’em coming! – and everyone who has come back to rent a flick. Mucho appreciato! We can do this, people!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-black-dog-video#home

August the 9th is going to be such a special day. Oh joy! Come in to either Black Dogs for our Customer Appreciation Day! There will be a raffle for a brand new Blu Ray player, some swag to hand out, a sampling of sweet sounds courtesy of Jason Zumpano over at Commercial Drive and maybe even some delicious beer to tantalize your tastebuds. You can also get a free old title rental with the rental of anything else in the store (of equal or greater value). Hugs and kisses are welcome! Hope to see all of your lovely smiling faces!

New for You!

Dom Hemingway – Jude Law acts along side some wicked side burns as an ex-con who did some hard time for keeping his mutton-chopped mouth shut. Now he’s back on the street looking to claim what’s his. First stop? Maybe a barber? Withnail is along for the ride as well. Blu Ray ONLY (for some reason this was only released on BR in North America – I’m trying to track down a couple of DVD copies…stay tuned).

Made in America – Ron Howard directs a concert film about Jay-Z. Because when I think modern day hip-hop, I think Ron Howard. DVD.

Omar – Heavy-duty drama about a Palestinian freedom fighter that has to work as an informant after being tricked by a sneaky Israeli guy. Heard nothing but great things about this – Oscar nominated and everything! And topical! DVD.

Orphan Black Season 2 – Tatiana Maslany stars with Tatiana Maslany and up-and-comer Tatiana Maslany in this fine Canadian sci-fi effort. Game of Clones anyone? Get it? See what I did there! DVD.

Sabotage – Arnie is just cranking out the mediocrity now that he’s not that mediocre Gov’ner anymore. I had, well I wouldn’t say high hopes, but maybe some hopes that this was going to be good as it’s directed by the guy who did the stellar End of Watch. But from what I hears, it’s a pretty big mess. Ahnold plays a crooked DEA cop (you know he’s crooked cause he has neck tattoos) who steals some money from the mob. His DEA cronies, who were in on the heist, are then hunted down one-by-one. What’s the big guy gonna do? DVD and Blu Ray.

Stranger by the Lake – Very well received intense gay erotic thriller finds a dude cruising the beaches for company but he falls in with the wrong crowd. There may even be some murder afoot. Think Rear Window getting it on with Cruising and producing this sexy French baby. As one fella said, “Puts the cock back in Hitchcock”. DVD.

Transcendence – Haven’t heard too many good things about this sci-fi number that finds Johnny Depp being uploaded into a computer or something like that. Does he become a crazed megalomaniac bent on destroying humanity? Probably. DVD and Blu Ray.

Under the Skin – Scarlett Johansson is some sort of soul sucking succubus from another planet who goes around seducing men to find out what makes them tick. Then she feasts on their souls. Or something like that. I could think of worse ways to go. Heard that this is quite an amazing, unsettling flick. DVD now and Blu Ray in a day or so…

Zero Theorem – How can a film directed by Terry Gilliam and starring 2 time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz go straight to home video? Crazy. Like, how bad can it be? I bet it’s not bad at all as Gilliam is a gifted filmmaker and I could watch Waltz recite the phone book. Here he plays a computer guy whose goal is to find the reason for existence but his work is interrupted by a sexy distraction sent down from “Management” to throw him off his game. I’m in! DVD and Blu Ray.

Coming Next Week

Noah
Angriest Man in Brooklyn
Cuban Fury
Death Bed: The Bed that Eats
Lullaby
The Other Woman
Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It

What to Watch!

https://blackdogvideo.ca/category/reviews/

See everyone back here next week. Be safe and keep watching!

Black Dog Video

News at Black Dog Video

Black Dog Video
Cambie Street and/or Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
Canada

Free Hugs: Black Dog’s Guide to What You Need and What You Want

July 15, 2014/0 Comments/in Newsletter/by Darren

Had a very interesting weekend. The wife and I travelled to Portland (on my birthday, no less. I’m still in my 40s!) to attend a conference that went by the name “The World Domination Summit”. My wife had wanted to attend this for a while now and asked if I was interested. When I found out it was in Portland I was sold because what rhymes with Portland? Beer! Anyways, I didn’t know what to expect as I’ve never been to any kind of conference before and I was a little skeptical (cause I’m a bit of a skeptic) especially after reading their tagline – “How to Live a Remarkable Life in a Conventional World”. I was expecting maybe some speeches and workshops run by Tony Robbin types – you know lots of positive personal affirmations, hugging and socks with sandals. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was..read more…

We are now into the second week of our Indiegogo fundraiser to help keep us stayin’ alive. We’ve had a very good response so far but we need to keep the conversation going. If you have the time and/or the will, please check out our link and pass it on. Every little bit helps. Thanks again!

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-black-dog-video#home

We’re putting together a Black Dog customer appreciation day! It will be sometime in August. Stay tuned for the gory details…

On the Shelf Today!

Big Ass Spider – What are we body-shaming spiders now? So what if the spider has a big ass? Maybe it’s hormonal? Maybe the spider is big-boned? Maybe the spider is just comfortable the way it is. Screw all of you who have a problem with this poor spider’s huge ass. Or maybe it’s just some slang as in, “Dang Jethro, that’s one big-ass spider terrorizing the city of LA after escaping from a military laboratory!” DVD.

Blue Ruin – Expect to see this tale of revenge and family with plenty of twists and turns show up on many a best of the year list. There are more copies in transit so don’t go plotting any revenge against us if you can’t get a copy right away. DVD

Face of Love – “She lost her perfect love… until she found his perfect double.” That’s what it says on the box. I can’t make this shit up. Annette Bening’s husband kicks off so she settles for his doppleganger who, for some reason, looks an awful lot like Ed Harris. You’d think she’d want to try on something new? Also has Robin Williams in it so it must be good.

Gimme Shelter – A pregnant teenager finds herself on the streets after being rejected by her horrible parents. There she meets Muck Jagger who takes her to the Altamont concert in 1969 where she joins the Hell’s Angels and beats on some hippies with a pool cue. Some of that description is true. DVD.

(I couldn’t find an image of the movie – that’s how great it is) – so here’s a picture of Dolph Lundgren!

Legendary – This looks like crap. But you might like it. Dolph Lundgren is a legendary (might be what the title is referring to, might not) bounty hunter named Harker who’s off to China to hunt down some monster called a Cryptid who is eating lots of Chinese people. Or something like that. Watch it at your own risk. DVD.

A Night in Old Mexico – Old coot Red Bovie (played by old coot Robert Duvall) is forced to give up his land for some reason and instead of going to a retirement home, he goes on one last adventure. Presumably in Old Mexico. Good old Mexico! DVD.

Rio 2 – More cute Amazonian animals with big human-like eyes singing and dancing their way through the jungle and into your heart. Lego Movie it ain’t. Good for the kids and those who like the colour blue I suppose. DVD and Blu Ray.

Stephen Hawking: Grand Design – Famous talking brain Stephen Hawking attempts to explain the meaning of life through science and comedy whatever else he has up his sleeve (Not too sure about the comedy or the sleeve part). Show off. DVD.

13 Sins – How come no one has given legendary thespian Ron Perlman an Oscar yet?! He’s a damn fine actor! Here he stars in this thriller about a down-on-his-luck guy (not Sir Perlman) who gets a cryptic phone call that promises riches if he performs 13 tasks, each more sinister than the last. Might be worth a watch, if only to see Ron Perlman’s impressive acting chops on display. DVD.

Coming Next Week

All Cheerleaders Die
Dom Hemingway
The Known Unknown
Sabotage
Made in America
Transcendence
Zero Theorem

Want to watch something but just don’t know what? Check this out…

https://blackdogvideo.ca/category/reviews/

Here’s a video I took last week of a rally to save Black Dog outside the Commercial location. For some reason it was mostly Argentines participating.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152530342041215&set=vb.748356214&type=2&theater

Black Dog Video
Cambie Street and/or Commercial Drive
Vancouver, BC
Canada

Free Hugs – The “Save Black Dog Video” Edition

July 8, 2014/4 Comments/in Newsletter/by Darren

Ok. Here we go. As you all may or may not know, the video industry has been hit hard by all of the online options out there. Damn intranets, thought that was just going to be another fad! Black Dog is no exception. We have been struggling to make ends meet for a while now. After mulling over many ideas, we’ve decided to go the Indiegogo fundraising route. If you are interested, please check out this page. It’s our Save Black Dog Video campaign, “In Dog We Trust”. Help out if you can/want and please pass this on to everyone you can think of and even some of those that you can’t. We want to stick around as long as we can and you can help. Thanks for your support.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/save-black-dog-video/x/783693

We are interested in your used things. Your slightly used, previously-loved DVDs and Blu Rays that is. We not offering much (we’ll most definitely take donations!) $1 per disk or a $2 in-store credit. Show us what you got!

Tis a Great Day on the Shelves!

Bad Words – The lovely and talented Jason Batemen stars and directs this pitch-black comedy about a guy who lost a spelling bee competition as a kid. So in the future he sets out, using a loophole in the rules, to win as an adult. Against other kids. Heard good, wicked things about this one. DVD and Blu Ray

Endeavour Series 2 – More Morse inspecting things are are amiss in this fine BBC detective series.

The Final Member – In the northern Icelandic town of Husavik, stands the Icelandic Phallological Museum – the world’s only penis museum. Yes you read that right. Some crazy Icelandician has decided to collect a penis from every mammal on the planet. He needs only one more to complete his collection. Can you guess what he’s missing? Cough* a dude’s *cough*. This doc follows him on his quest and we also meet two other crazy fellas who are hoping to be the first to bestow their, um, endowments to the museum.

Jodorowsky’s Dune – Imagine what Dune would have been like if it was Alejandro Jodorowsky behind the camera instead of David Lynch (he should have made a better, weirder film)? If you haven’t seen any of Jodorowsky’s films, they are a trip. I love Holy Mountain, El Topo and Sante Sangre. Mind benders. Add in HR Giger, Salvador Dali, Mick Jagger, David Carradine, Orson Welles and Pink Floyd and one can only imagine what lunacy would have been unleashed. Can’t wait to see this doc! DVD and Blu Ray.

The Lunchbox – Charming little Indian film about a mistaken delivery in Mumbai’s famously efficient lunchbox delivery system that connects a young housewife to an older man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox. Dusk of his life? Just before the nighttime of his life I guess. DVD and Blu Ray.

Nymphomaniac Parts 1 and 2 – Oh Lars von Trier, you naughty Dane, you. Weirdly fascinating, at times hilarious and disturbing and even sex. We are along for the ride as Lars takes us on an epic erotic journey from Milan to Minsk…wait no that’s not it…Charlotte Gainsberg tells her story of being an insatiable nymphomaniac to a more-than-eager to listen Stellan Skarsgård. Along the way we meet a number of characters played by the likes of Stacy Martin, Uma Thurman, Jaime Bell, Shia Labeouf (shudder), Willam Dafoe and plenty of others. Most definitely worth a watch (if only once) as it can be unpleasant, sometime gruelling viewing. No-one makes films quite like Von Trier. DVD – each part rents separately. Blu Ray – you get both parts for the price of one!

The Raid 2 – Not just one of the best action films of the year, one of the best action films. Period. If you’ve seen part one, you’re gonna eat up Part 2. And it tastes great! It’s a little long (2 1/2 hours!) and somewhat convoluted (“who’s that guys again? I thought he was dead already”) but it’s worth the ride for sure. Love me some Hammer Girl. DVD and Blu Ray.

Random Acts of Violence – Black comedy/horror number about a dude, who’s disillusioned with the gentrification of his NY neighbourhood, that starts a crime spree to drive property values down and re-create the bohemian flavour of what once was. But nobody is paying attention…Might be worth a look. But don’t get any ideas!

Coming Next Week

A Night in Old Mexico
Bethlehem
Big Ass Spider
face of Love
Gimme Shelter
Rio 2
Road to Paloma

Here’s our picks for your lovely eyes to enjoy…

https://blackdogvideo.ca/2013/02/for-your-viewing-pleasure/

That’s it for this week, folks. Have a great week and please help spread the word so we can keep our wonderful and important collection alive and kicking.

Black Dog Video

Welcome to Black Dog Video!

Free Hugs! Black Dog’s Guide to What’s Fresh on the Shelves for Tuesday July 1st

July 2, 2014/0 Comments/in Newsletter/by Darren

So as you all remember, I sent out a notice the other day regarding the new anti-spamming laws our government is bent on wasting a lot of money on. I was a little surprised at the exodus of subscribers, I must say. I’ve had over 10 people, and counting, bail on the my Free Hugs. Usually when folks unsubscribe it is immediately after I send out a publication that contains copious amounts of swearing, nudity, drugs or suggestive situations. I’m hoping that these weren’t regular readers anyway and they just wanted to clean up their inbox or my fragile ego might not be able to handle it.

We are in the final stages of putting together our “In Dog We Trust” campaign that is designed to help save our little shops from succumbing to the scourge of technology. Stay tuned.

Freshly Released

Adult World – What’s a week without a new John Cusack film? I wouldn’t want to disappoint you so here he is again, this time playing a reclusive writer named, get this, Rat Billings. He takes a young, naive writer under his wing while she works at a sex shop. Ai Ca-rumba! DVD

Afflicted – Great little locally made horror/thriller about a couple of dudes who go on vacation. But wait, there’s more! One of the dudes becomes afflicted (hence the title) with a strange disease that either turns him into a vampire, a super-strong insect like guy or maybe John Cusack. DVD

Best Offer – From director, Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) comes this nifty little drama/thriller that finds Geoffrey Rush’s auctioneer becoming obsessed with an extremely reclusive heiress who collects fine art. Looks kinda creepy. We like kinda creepy. DVD.

Hinterland Season 1 – Welsh crime-drama TV affair that plays out like a Welsh The Killing. And to me, that sounds like a Welshy good time. DVD.

Like Father, Like Son – Cannes winning Japanese film that concerns itself with a businessman who finds out that his kid was accidentally switched at birth. What’s he to do? Switch them back or keep on keepin’ on with the son he’s already raising? Tough decision for some it seems. DVD.

Raze – A bunch of women are abducted and forced to fight each other for some reason. My money’s on Zoe Bell.

Young Doctor’s Notebook – Don Draper and Harry Potter star in this offbeat little comedy/drama type thing about a young doctor who arrives in a small Russian village around the time of the Russian Revolution to work in the local hospital. Let the laughs begin! Never heard of this despite the big named fellas in it.

Coming Next Week

Bad Words
Endeavor Series 2
Jodoworsky’s Dune –
The Lunchbox
Nymphomaniac Parts 1 and 2
The Raid 2
Random Acts of Violence

Need something to please yourself with? Try these on for size…

https://blackdogvideo.ca/category/reviews/

Thanks for reading. Hopefully see you next week, or even better, in the stores!

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Archive for month: July, 2014

In Your Eyes!

Coming in Your Eyes Next Week

New for You!

Coming Next Week

What to Watch!

On the Shelf Today!

Coming Next Week

Tis a Great Day on the Shelves!

Coming Next Week

Freshly Released

Coming Next Week

Video Store on Commercial Drive

Memberships are here!

Where To?

Search